Lita Ford Interview - June, 2017By: Susan DusseMIRP: Thank you for taking the time to interview with MIRP. Let’s talk about what is currently going on. Your last release was “Time Capsule” released a year ago. When will we see the next album and where are you in the process?Lita: Yes, we are in the process of writing and recording at the moment, and also looking for producers and engineers to work on the record. MIRP: How do you write? Do you write constantly or do you write in a structured scheduled fashion?Lita: There is no structure to writing a song unless you are with a writer you have ever written with before. Then you sit down and try to work on something together. Otherwise, you can write a song taking a shower or driving in our car. I usually come up with ideas while playing guitar or keyboards by myself.MIRP: What comes first, the music or the lyrics?Lita: It doesn’t. There is no structure to write a song. Sometimes it’s a great lyric, or sometimes it is a great guitar or piano part. A great song title triggers a great riff.MIRP: Do you still love to perform?Lita: Performing is what keeps me young. Yes, I love to perform, especially if it is a good sounding venue and the audience is participating in the sound of the crowd and the songs.MIRP: Do you still continue to learn or have you learned everything you can on the guitar?Lita: There is always something new to learn from different people or different records that are out.MIRP: Have you accomplished everything you set out to? If yes, when did you come to that realization? If no, what goals are still on your list?Lita: No, I have a bucket list. When I run out of things that I have accomplished and I’m done…that will be the day I die. A major motion film would be awesome. Producing, writing the soundtrack, writing the film.MIRP: Is there a song/album that you wish you had never made?Lita: Wicked Wonderland. It was a record that was put together on my behalf. I threw a few licks on it and my ex-husband called it a Lita album. It is defiantly not a Lita album, and I refuse to be associated with it.MIRP: What song/album are you most proud of?Lita: there are quite a few; not one in particular. One might have my favorite guitar solo or a great vocal performance; there are a lot of different songs.MIRP: If you weren’t a successful musician, what do you think you would have done as an occupation?Lita: I was very happy just being a mother to my children. Now that they are older I am back on the road.MIRP: What, if anything, would cause you to stop performing?Lita: I would probably just produce albums, but remain in the music industry in some shape or form, even if I couldn’t play or sing.MIRP: Do you ever get concerned with the state of the world regarding traveling and performing in such a public way?Lita: Flying isn’t fun anymore. All of their stupid rules and the way they charge you money for every single solitary thing. Otherwise, travelling the world is exciting. The way of the world is fucked up compared to when I as a kid, but it is what it is, and it isn’t going to stop me.MIRP: What do you attribute your longevity in the rock business to?Lita: Never giving up. Sticking with what I love to do. Since I began in 1970, I have been nominated as the first lady of rock guitar by Marshall Amplifications, and Guitar Player magazine. I also won the icon award and a life time achievement award. That is dedication.MIRP: 2005’s documentary, “Edgeplay, A Film about the Runaways.” and 2010’s movie, “The Runaways,” how did you feel about those two releases?Lita: I have not seen the Runaway movie, only the trailers. I have no desire to watch it. Vicky Blue did a good job with Edge Play. I think it is a much better film than the Runaways. Although they did do a good job with casting the characters who played us girls. Personally, I did not want to be in the movie because it is not about me it is about Joan Jett. I had nothing to do with it. I had no control other than removing pieces of the firm that were incorrect and false. I think they could have talked about the music more, which would have been cool.MIRP: With regard to some of the very honest facts that you revealed about abuse by management, do you think women in rock have it easier, harder, or the same now?Lita: It is a man’s world and it always will be. No matter what it is: music, flying a plane, or being a doctor (although I do have a female physician,) it is still a man’s world.MIRP: How do you heal from abuse like that?Lita: Plow through it and just keep going. Don’t let things discourage you or stop you from being who you want to be.MIRP: What question over your career have you been asked the most?Lita: What is Ozzy like.MIRP: What question have you never been asked that you always wanted to answer?Lita: I think I’ve been asked them all. But when I’m not doing interviews, I prefer to stay to myself and remain quiet…or make music.MIRP: If you could only choose to play the guitar OR to sing, which would you choose?Lita: Play guitar. It is what I did first; it is what comes natural. Singing is not as easy for me because I had to learn how to sing, where playing guitar was something that was a gift from God.MIRP: There is no doubt you are beautiful, how difficult was that pressure to stay beautiful over your career?Lita: Rock ‘n Roll keeps me fit; keeps me young. I do not do Botox or facelifts, boob jobs, or any of that stuff; I don’t believe in them and I don’t heal well. So, I stay away from needles and scalpels. I try to watch what I eat so long as I get to eat ice cream once in a while.MIRP: Over your career, what was the best thing that came out of it? Lita: Longevity and being the first lady of Rock guitar.MIRP: Is there any place in the world that you’ve never played that you want to?Lita: Yes, Alaska. We are going to Alaska. First time for me.MIRP: How has reception been on your book, “Living Like a Runaway,”? Was it therapeutic or troubling to write? What was the hardest to reveal? Did you get everything out that you wanted to?Lita: The book was a fight. I couldn’t find a co-author and ended up writing it myself with the help of a friend who was good on the computer…piecing together pages and paragraphs, and putting things in chronological order. It turned out very successful and I’m proud of it.MIRP: While you definitely proved yourself over the years that you are very talented, I was wondering if you were you ever resentful of being cast as a sex symbol in the 1980s over your talent?Lita: I don’t think that the 90s cast me as a sex symbol because I disappeared off of the planet. I disappeared to a deserted island in the 1990s; I was nowhere to be found. Also, that was arrogance…people not seeing someone who could play guitar and judging a book by its cover. “A pretty girl couldn’t possibly be able to play guitar”, they thought. But we’ve overlooked that now.MIRP: What is the most misunderstood thing about you?Lita: Refer back to the question above (it only refers to some people and not the entire music industry.)MIRP: Is there anything else you’d like to talk about?Lita: God bless and keep rockin’.​